Sidhu wanted CM’s post, we offered him deputy’s: Kejriwal

Breaking silence on the issue why talks between the Aam Aadmi Party and former BJP MP Navjot Sidhu could not mature, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said former cricketer wanted to be projected as the chief ministerial candidate. Kejriwal, who admitted that Sidhu was offered the post of deputy chief minister by the AAP, said, “Sidhu wanted to be the CM and this is the reason that he didn’t accept out deputy CM’s offer and went towards Congress that wants to declare him as CM candidate.”

Breaking silence on the issue why talks between the Aam Aadmi Party and former BJP MP Navjot Sidhu could not mature, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said former cricketer wanted to be projected as the chief ministerial candidate.Kejriwal, who admitted that Sidhu was offered the post of deputy chief minister by the AAP, said, “Sidhu wanted to be the CM and this is the reason that he didn’t accept our deputy CM’s offer and went towards Congress that wants to declare him as CM candidate.”

Though Sidhu is yet to join the Congress, but the Delhi CM, who was talking to reporters here, said “everyone knows that Sidhu is being brought into the Congress to project him as the CM face”. “Sidhu is the unannounced CM candidate of Congress party. Rahul Gandhi is not happy with Amarinder,” he said.

Notably, though Sidhu himself is yet to join Congress party but his wife and MLA wife Dr Navjot Kaur has already joined the Congress. Recently Sidhu himself had also met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and is likely to join the party soon and may contest from Amritsar East segment.

Questions Capt on job promise

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said Amarinder is promising job to every household that means creating around 60-lakh jobs. “Punjab only has 4-lakh sanctioned posts and I want to ask him that how he will do this? Why is he cheating the youth of Punjab with such false promises?” he said.

He said Capt Amarinder was always against government jobs and he had ordered a freeze on recruitments when he came to power in 2002. “During his tenure he didn't fill even a single post. I ask him why people of Punjab should trust him this time?” he said.

He said it was Amarinder who introduced the trend of employing people on contract and ad hoc basis. He even abolished the pension scheme for government employees.

Replying to a question, Kejriwal said AAP will give the CM post to someone who could wake up at 5am and work till 10pm and meet the public throughout the day.

Intro: Says Sidhu unannounced chief ministerial candidate of Congress, criticises Capt for making promises that are impossible to fulfil

Was Sanjay right or Kejriwal?

In an interview to HT on September 8, the day Navjot Singh Sidhu had announced Awaaz-e-Punjab front, AAP co-in-charge for Punjab, Sanjay Singh, had claimed Sidhu had never asked to be named party’s CM face nor was it offered. “To be fair to him, not once he asked for being made the CM face of the party in Punjab. He did talk to us once again (after Arvind Kejriwal came back from his Vipassana meditation centre in Himachal) on what have we thought about him, and we told him all of that has already been discussed,” Sanjay Singh said.

Sidhu was offered CM post by Gandhis: Bains told Kejriwal

Bains brothers of Ludhiana, who have broken off from Sidhu’s Awaaz-e-Punjab, to join ranks with the AAP are behind Kejriwal’s propaganda that Sidhu was offered the CM’s post by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi. Atam Nagar MLA Simarjeet Bains had told HT after announcing an alliance with AAP at Chandigarh that the talks with Sidhu were being carried by Priyanka and Rahul and Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh was not kept in the loop. “Sidhu was told he will be made the CM face of the Congress and we all held several meetings waiting for the Congress to honour the promise. We told him it was impractical. The Congress cannot forsake Amarinder at this juncture when the entire campaign is woven around him,” Bains said.